KCNA Cloud Native Application Delivery Practice Test 3 — 15 Questions

Question 1

An organization uses Flux with Kustomize to manage their Kubernetes applications. They want to automatically update their deployment when a new container image is pushed to the registry. Which Flux component should they use?

Accepted Answer

Image Automation Controller. Flux's Image Automation Controller automates updates based on image policies. It can update manifests in Git when a new image tag is found, triggering a sync.

Answer

Source Controller

Answer

Helm Controller

Answer

Kustomize Controller

Question 2

In Kustomize, what is the purpose of an overlay?

Accepted Answer

To apply environment-specific customizations on top of a base. Kustomize overlays allow customizing a base configuration for different environments (e.g., dev, prod) by applying patches without modifying the base.

Answer

To merge multiple Kubernetes manifests into one

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To template variables into YAML files

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To define the base configuration of an application

Question 3

A CI/CD pipeline includes image scanning. What is the primary security benefit of scanning container images in the CI phase?

Accepted Answer

It prevents vulnerable images from being deployed to production. Scanning images in CI catches vulnerabilities before the image is deployed, preventing vulnerable images from reaching production.

Answer

It reduces the time it takes to build images

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It automatically fixes vulnerabilities

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It ensures that the image is built only once

Question 4

What is the primary advantage of using Helm to package a Kubernetes application?

Accepted Answer

It provides a templating engine to parameterize Kubernetes manifests. Helm packages Kubernetes manifests into a single chart, allowing easy installation, upgrades, and rollbacks with parameterization via values.yaml.

Answer

It automatically scales applications based on load

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It enforces security policies on deployments

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It manages network policies between services

Question 5

A team uses ArgoCD with a Git repository that contains Helm charts. They want ArgoCD to automatically sync when a new image tag is pushed to the container registry. Which approach should they use?

Accepted Answer

Use ArgoCD Image Updater. ArgoCD Image Updater is the official tool to automatically update image tags in Kubernetes manifests (including Helm values) and commit changes to Git, triggering ArgoCD to sync.

Answer

Use Flux Image Automation Controller

Answer

Configure a webhook from the registry to ArgoCD API server

Answer

Manually update the Helm values and commit

Question 6

In a CI/CD pipeline, what is the difference between continuous delivery and continuous deployment?

Accepted Answer

Continuous delivery requires manual approval for production deployment; continuous deployment automates it. Continuous delivery ensures code is always in a deployable state but requires manual approval for production deployment. Continuous deployment automatically deploys every change to production without manual intervention.

Answer

Continuous delivery automatically deploys to production; continuous deployment does not

Answer

There is no difference; the terms are used interchangeably

Answer

Continuous deployment runs tests; continuous delivery does not

Question 7

Which TWO of the following are capabilities of ArgoCD? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Automated application sync from Git to cluster. ArgoCD provides automated sync (applying desired state from Git) and self-healing (automatically reverting configuration drift). It is not a CI tool and does not build images.

Answer

Building container images from source code

Answer

Running unit tests during deployment

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Managing secrets using Kubernetes Secrets

Question 8

Which THREE of the following are features of Helm that facilitate release management? (Choose three.)

Accepted Answer

Rollback to a previous release revision. Helm provides rollback to previous revisions, stores release history, and upgrades releases while preserving history. It does not natively do canary deployments or autoscaling.

Answer

Canary deployment strategy

Answer

Horizontal pod autoscaling

Question 9

Which TWO of the following are deployment patterns that can be used to update applications with minimal downtime? (Choose two.)

Accepted Answer

Blue-green deployment. Blue-green and canary are deployment patterns that reduce downtime by gradually shifting traffic. Rolling update is also a pattern but the question asks for minimal downtime; blue-green and canary are specifically designed for that.

Answer

DaemonSet deployment

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Sidecar deployment

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Recreate deployment

Question 10

What is the primary purpose of a continuous integration (CI) pipeline in cloud native application delivery?

Accepted Answer

To build and test code changes automatically. CI automates building and testing code changes to catch integration issues early, ensuring that code is always in a deployable state.

Answer

To provision infrastructure resources

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To automatically deploy code to production

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To manage container images in a registry

Question 11

In GitOps with ArgoCD, what happens when the desired state in Git differs from the live state in the cluster?

Accepted Answer

ArgoCD syncs the cluster to match Git if auto-sync is enabled. ArgoCD detects drift and can automatically sync the cluster to match Git, enabling self-healing.

Answer

ArgoCD reports an error and stops working

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ArgoCD deletes the Git repository

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ArgoCD automatically reverts the changes in Git

Question 12

A team uses Flux with the Source Controller and Kustomize Controller. They update a YAML file in Git to change a Deployment's replica count. What describes the synchronization flow?

Accepted Answer

The Kustomize Controller fetches the source and applies the rendered manifests. Flux Source Controller fetches changes from Git; Kustomize Controller reconciles the kustomization and applies to the cluster.

Answer

The Source Controller directly applies the manifest to the cluster

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Flux uses HelmReleases to apply changes

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Flux requires a manual kubectl apply to sync

Question 13

What is Helm's role in Kubernetes?

Accepted Answer

A package manager for Kubernetes applications. Helm is a package manager that simplifies deploying and managing Kubernetes applications using charts.

Answer

A CI/CD server

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A security scanner for container images

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A monitoring and logging tool

Question 14

During a canary deployment using Argo Rollouts, how does the tool determine the success of the canary before promoting it?

Accepted Answer

By analyzing predefined metrics (e.g., error rate) via an AnalysisTemplate. Argo Rollouts uses metrics from a service mesh or monitoring to analyze the canary's health and decide whether to proceed.

Answer

By checking the rollout's status field in the YAML

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By requiring manual approval via a webhook

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By comparing the ReplicaSet's age to a threshold

Question 15

A developer runs 'helm upgrade --install myapp ./mychart' and sees the release status is 'failed'. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The chart contains invalid Kubernetes manifests. A failed Helm upgrade usually means the Kubernetes API rejected the manifests (e.g., invalid YAML, resource conflict).

Answer

The Tiller pod is not running

Answer

The Helm binary is outdated

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The namespace does not exist